I feel like I’m still in jail: Acquitted former professor G.N. Saibaba

Former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba gets emotional as he addresses a press conference in New Delhi on March 08, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

Former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba, who was acquitted by the Bombay High Court in a Maoist links case, said he still feels as if he is in a jail cell after spending seven years in prison.

He was released from the Nagpur Central Jail on March 07, two days after his acquittal.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Saibaba recalled his “jail ordeal” and even got emotional as he spoke about what his family went through in the last seven years.

Saibaba was lodged in the Nagpur Central Jail since 2017 after his conviction by a trial court in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district. Before that, he was in prison from 2014 to 2016 and was subsequently granted bail.

“I am still not able to register that I am free. I feel I am still lodged in the notorious jail cell. It was like an ‘agni pariksha’ for me. I had to go through a test by fire twice,” he said.

Thanking his lawyers for fighting the case, he said one of them fought his case without any fees.

Former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba addresses a press conference following his release from the Nagpur Central Jail after the Bombay High Court acquitted him in an alleged Maoist links case, in New Delhi, Friday, March 8, 2024. CPI General secretary D. Raja is also seen.
| Photo Credit:
PTI

“Another lawyer got jailed because of supporting me. During the trial, certain police officers threatened my lawyers,” he alleged.

Talking about his family, he said they survived only on hope.

“Instead of going to the hospital, I chose to speak to the press because you supported me. My family faced stigma and I was called a terrorist,” he said with tears in his eyes.